Summer's Never Looked the Same
by itsmonicarose
Summary: Finally free of secrets & hiding, Sam & Mercedes are determined to make the most of their summer vacation. Nothing is going to stand in the way of them being together. Nothing. And that's a promise. Continuation of "Out of My Element".
1. Prologue

**This is the prologue to the continuation of "Out of My Element", my Samcedes fic. You might want to read that first before you start this!  
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><p>Mercedes had time to drop her books up in her room and freshen up a bit after coming home from school. She debated if she should actually change her entire outfit, but then remembered that this was Sam she was going to see. He wouldn't care what she was wearing, as long as she was with him.<p>

She blushed at that thought, considering how cheesy and cliché it might have sounded if she said it out loud.

"Mom!" She called, as she was heading downstairs. "I'm going over to Sam's!" She grabbed her car keys from where they rested on the table near the front door. "I'm helping babysit today!"

She heard a yell of approval from her mother and quickly turned the doorknob. But she froze before she could even step outside.

Sam stood there on her front steps, his head hung, his hands in his pockets.

"Sam?" She asked, stunned at seeing him there. He didn't move when she called his name. "Baby, what are you doing here? I was just coming to meet-"

But she didn't get to finish, because when Sam looked up at her, what she saw almost broke her heart.

He was crying. Though it wasn't a thick, heavy sort of cry. It was the kind where he was obviously trying to hold back, trying to keep it in. Only a few tears escaped his eyes as he stared at her, and she stared back, her eyes wide with concern.

She hurried to close the door behind her.

"Sam, Sam what's wrong?" Immediately she rushed to him, placing two hands on his cheeks, wiping the tears away with her thumbs. "Tell me. Talk to me." She demanded.

She repeated those words over and over, trying to get him to say something.

He shook his head gently and continued staring at her. But when he finally spoke, it wasn't words filled with pain or anger, as she would have expected.

"I just…I missed you." He said.

Mercedes hands fell to his shoulders and she continued to stare at him, confused. They weren't actually apart for that long.

"I missed you too," she began slowly. She was going to continue, but suddenly lost her train of thought.

He had covered her words with a kiss. Sam wrapped her in his arms, a tight embrace. His hands roved over her body, exploring. Her mind told her that they should move. At least get to her car where her parents wouldn't be able to spy on them, but it was like her thoughts were stunted. He had never kissed her like this before. It was as if he wanted to have as much of her as he could possibly get before something bad happened.

And honestly, in some weird way, it scared her.

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><p><strong>Confused? Worried? Wondering why in the hell Sam is crying?<strong>

**I know. There's a reason, _trust_ me. It will be touched on later in the fic. But don't worry, there's plenty of time before this scene decides to show up again in the story.  
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**I've actually been debating for a while about posting this, because I don't want to scare you away by reading something that seems so heartbreaking just by the prologue. But I've been feeling pretty strongly about the plot and I can't get it out of my head no matter how hard I try, so I just decided to go with my gut and post.**

**I hope you'll decide to stick with me.  
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	2. Like A Little Married Couple

Mercedes sat at the small kitchen table at the motel, flipping through the pages of a local magazine. Every so often she would stop and listen to the sound of Sam's voice, which traveled in towards her from the other room. At the moment, he was trying to put Stacey and Stevie to sleep, but with no obvious luck so far. Every time Sam would finish singing and playing a song for them on his guitar, one of the kids would jump up excitedly and request another tune. Sam, being the honorable big brother he was, caved in to their demands.

Every single time.

Mercedes shook her head and laughed as they named kid song after kid song, and she laughed even harder at Sam trying to sing all the words. Stacey and Stevie would seriously try to help him out, finishing lines that he didn't know.

She_ would_ go in and give him a hand with the songs, even though she knew very few of their requests, but tonight it was his turn to put them to bed. She was in charge of cleaning up in the kitchen after dinner, and she had already finished.

It was funny how they became like a regular little married couple just over the course of a few short weeks into summer vacation. Almost every night Sam's parents would be out, still on the lookout for jobs, ready to go for anything that would pay. Mercedes found herself over at the motel a lot more than usual, and so she and Sam had developed a system to keep everything running smoothly until it was time for Mercedes to leave each day.

She had to admit, she loved spending time with the three of them. She always found herself smiling when she was over here and actually looked forward to coming over. There was never a dull moment when Stacey and Stevie were around.

Mercedes listened again to the sound of Sam's guitar, playing the last few notes of a soft melody. She waited to see what they would shout out next, but no other voices were heard. Instead, she heard the click of a light switch and then Sam walked over to the kitchen.

"Had fun?" she asked, as he sat down at the table opposite her. He didn't answer. "Oh, you love them."

"Of course I love them. But, you know the more I think about it, the more I see that those two are going to join a glee club when they get older. I don't really get how they have such a huge library of songs stored in their tiny minds."

"Don't doubt their intelligence." Mercedes said, closing her magazine and laughing. "But it'll be my turn tomorrow, so don't worry. You can rest that adorable voice of yours."

Sam narrowed his eyes at her.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under the weight of his gaze. He got up and turned towards the fridge.

"I don't know." He said.

"What do you mean 'I don't know'? What was that look for?"

Sam had grabbed himself a carton of milk and a glass from the nearby cupboard. He didn't say anything as he poured and shrugged before he eventually took a drink.

"I just don't think we should be letting this turn into a daily routine." He drained his glass in a few gulps.

Mercedes frowned. "What, you don't want me here anymore?"

"Huh? No. No, that's not what I'm saying."

"Then what-"

"Ok, look." He placed the empty cup in the sink and sat down at the table once more. "We're together, right? You're my girlfriend, right?"

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes." She answered cautiously. She had no idea where this was going.

"Exactly." He banged his hand against the table and sat back.

Mercedes was still confused. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, unsure of what to say.

"What are you talking about?"

"That was my point, Mercy. See, you're my girlfriend. We're in a relationship and so far, all we've been doing is cooking for and taking care of two little kids. That doesn't sound like we're in high school to me. It sounds like we're an old married couple struggling to make ends meet with two kids that won't go to bed no matter how many damn songs I sing for them."

"Ok, how did you get all of that from this?" Mercedes laughed.

"I'm just saying that as my girlfriend, babysitting my little brother and sister shouldn't be how we spend all of our time together. As your boyfriend, I should be taking you out or something. You should be looking forward to going on dates in _public._"

"Sam, it doesn't bother me. And besides, I really don't care about going out. I'm fine with just spending time with you guys."

"I know that, but now we hardly get any alone time. I mean, if we're constantly having to stay with Stacey and Stevie, how are we going to-"

"Find time to make out? Is that what you're worried about?" A devilish smile danced on her lips.

"Well, that's not the only thing…but it's part of it, yeah."

"Look, I don't mind helping with the munchkins. I love them. And it helps that Stevie gives the best hugs."

Sam stared at her and frowned. "Better than _my_ hugs?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that. His hugs are pretty spectacular."

"Oh yeah?" Sam grinned and leaned over the table towards her, whispering, "I can give you something better than a lame hug." He watched with satisfaction as her eyes fluttered shut and her lips spread into a smile. He was only a few inches away from the touch of her lips, when a little voice called out from the other room.

"Sammy?"

Sam stopped and groaned inwardly. _Way to ruin the mood. _He thought. Mercedes, on the other hand, was sitting there giggling.

"You see?" he mouthed quietly to Mercedes. He waved a hand towards the other room. "This is what I'm talking about." Sam sighed and pushed away from the table. He walked to the other room and stared into the darkness.

"What's up?" he asked.

Stevie's tired voice called out to him. "Can I have a glass of water?"

As Sam moved to fulfill his little brother's request, Mercedes opened her magazine once more. She turned a few pages, hardly paying any attention to the tiny models that were showing off new clothing styles that she herself would never think to wear, until her eyes spotted something.

It was an ad for a local amusement park, not too far out of Lima. It wasn't really anything like she'd seen in movies or on TV, because it seemed to be a lot smaller in size. It didn't really have a name either, as only "Come to Lima's Amusement Park!" graced the top of the page. She read on. "Open from May 1st to September 15th", it said. So it was only for the summer, too. Why had she never heard of this place before? Lima was such a small town that she was sure a thing like an amusement park would be a cause for excitement in the community.

From the other room, she heard Sam say goodnight in a kind tone, but she doubted that little Stevie picked up on the slight annoyance in his big brother's voice. When Sam came to sit at the table again, he dropped his head onto his arms.

"All of that and he only drank one little sip." His head was facing the table, so his voice came out slightly muffled as he spoke. "I think they're out to get me."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and reach out to touch his arm.

"Hey, so I have an idea."

"You agree with me?"

"What? Sam, no." she picked up the magazine and showed him the ad. "You want to get out of the motel, right? We can take Stacey and Stevie here. I'm sure they'll love it."

Sam's eyes scanned the page for a while.

"Mercedes, I didn't mean I want to bring them with us. I wanted us to go out alone. You know, like a date?"

"We'll find time to go on a date. Don't worry about that. Besides, they're so little. They need to enjoy their summer vacation too, right?" She put on a smile as Sam pulled the magazine towards him.

"How much do you think it is to get in?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's not such a bad price. I mean, it's Lima, after all. It's not exactly a popular, expensive vacation spot."

"Yeah." Sam was quiet then. He didn't take his eyes off of the magazine ad for a few seconds, but when he did look up at her, it was with a kind expression. "You know what? Sounds good. I'm in."

"Great! We can go this weekend."

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><p>The next day, Mercedes sat at her computer in her room, looking up the website of the park. The site itself looked tacky and very quickly made, but the pictures of the park and it's rides looked interesting enough. Stacey and Stevie would love it, no doubt.<p>

She had just finished looking through the park's photo album when her phone began to ring. It was Kurt. She reached over to grab it and answered it quickly.

"Hey, Kurt. Finally got a chance to return my calls?" She smirked. She had in fact tried getting in touch with him a few times, just to see how he was doing, but he was hardly available, even when she called his house.

"Sorry…Blaine and I have been…busy." He said the last word quietly, as if his parents were around and he didn't want them to hear. Mercedes just laughed.

"So _anyway_," He said, changing the subject. "I'm with Rachel right now, and we were sort of wondering if you and Sam have any plans for Saturday. We're thinking about seeing that new movie…what is it called?" Kurt's voice trailed away for a second. Mercedes heard Rachel mumbling something in the background, but she didn't quite catch what she said. "I don't know, but Blaine wanted to see it. How about you and Sam? Want to come with us? We can make this a triple." Kurt sounded pretty excited, and Mercedes felt bad that she had to turn him down.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kurt. Sam and I were planning on taking his brother and sister out for the day. They've been stuck in the house since school ended and we thought it'd be nice to get them out for a while."

"That's awfully sweet of you two." Kurt said. "Where are you taking them?"

"Just to this amusement park that apparently opened at the beginning of May."

"In Lima?"

"Yep."

"I didn't know we had an amusement park here."

"You see, that's what I said."

"_We have an amusement park in Lima?"_

Rachel's voice echoed through the phone into Mercedes' ears.

"That's what Mercedes says." Kurt told her.

"_Oh! I would love to go! We should go!"_

"That's not a bad idea." Kurt said, more to Rachel than to Mercedes. Mercedes, however, sat back in her chair, listening to the both of them. They seemed to have forgotten that she was still on the line.

"We can forget about the movie. I didn't _really _want to see it, but don't mention that to Blaine." His voice turned back to the phone, and it came out louder than Mercedes was expecting.

"Would you mind if we come along, Mercedes? We haven't really spent much time together since school ended, and I miss you."

"_I miss her too!"_

"Rachel misses you too."

"_And Sam! Don't forget Sam."_

"Yes, we miss Sam too. So what do you say?"

"Uh…" Mercedes was so caught off guard with their request that she didn't know what to think. For one thing, it really wasn't like Sam and Mercedes were going for the alone time, because they wouldn't be alone anyway. So, thinking about it, Kurt and Rachel really weren't intruding on anything. And in all honestly, she did miss the both of them as well.

"Sure. We can meet up there."

Mercedes heard the quick sound of someone clapping. That had to be Rachel.

"Yay." Kurt said happily. "Text me the address of the place and time you'll be there. See you then!"

They said their quick goodbyes and hung up. Mercedes stared down at her phone's screen. What were the odds that Kurt and Rachel would choose this weekend to want to hang out? The only answer that she could come up with was that the two of them had perfect timing.

However, she had no problem with them coming along. Like before, she really did miss their company. In fact, she missed most of the New Directions. It had only been a few weeks, but they were so used to seeing each other at school that just a small time apart felt like eternity. She thought it would be a good way to catch up with them, and when she brought it up to Sam later on, he agreed completely.

"Actually," he said as they were both standing outside the motel that night. Stacey and Stevie had just been put to bed. "That's not a bad idea."

"Kurt said the same thing…"

"No, really. Think about it." He turned to her excitedly. "If Kurt and Rachel come show up, we can spend some time with them, and then later, we'll let them watch Stacey and Stevie for a few hours while we go have some fun."

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh at his idea and how thrilled he seemed to be with the fact that he came up with it. "It's not really that big of a park, Sam. They're bound to bump into us wherever we go."

"Who said anything about us staying in the park?"

Mercedes eyed him carefully. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing, just that Kurt and Rachel will be great babysitters. I mean, they're our friends, so it's fine, right? And most likely Finn and Blaine will be there, so that's four people. Nothing to worry about." He stood in front of her, his eyes wide. "Come on, pleeeeaaase? We haven't been alone in forever."

That was true. Before she could say anything to agree with him though, he got down on his knees and tugged at her shirt.

"Please, Cedes?"

She looked around the parking lot nervously and grabbed at his wrists.

"What are you doing?" she giggled. "Ok, ok. We'll leave them with Kurt and Rachel." She tried to get him to stand up, but instead, he pulled her grip off of his wrist and kissed her hand.

"Thank you, Miss Jones."

"Sam!" she whispered. "Ok, come on. Get up."

He didn't let go though and he didn't stand up, not until he managed to trail kisses from the back her hand and up the length of her arm.

Everything seemed to grow extra quiet. The only sound Mercedes was able to focus on was the sound his lips made against her skin.

"I love the summer." He said quietly after he finally reached her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah? Why?"

She could feel him smirk against her skin. "Less clothes for me to fight my way through."

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><p><strong>Soooo, let's hope that Sam's plan will work and they'll be able to have some of that alone time they've been craving so much. I mean, Stacey and Stevie are cute enough, but can you blame the two of them? Sam and Mercedes have been holding back for far too long :)<strong>

**Also! I just wanted to mention, I'll be having midterms this week into next, so I'll be hitting the books a lot more than usual. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update as soon as I would like to, but I'll try to post something as soon as possible.  
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	3. Merry Go Rounds & Ferris Wheels

Mercedes pulled up in front of the motel bright and early Saturday morning. She watched as the curtain was pulled back and Sam peeked out at her. He smiled when he saw her then disappeared from view. The next second, the door to the room was opened and he stood in the doorway.

"Look at you." Mercedes laughed as she walked towards him. "It's like you're more excited than your brother and sister. Not that I would be surprised."

"Hey, don't judge."

"I'm not judging. Or complaining either." She said, putting her hands up in defense. "You're adorable when you're all excited. I like seeing you happy."

"I'm always happy when I'm with you."

"Mercedes!"

"Mercedes is here! Finally!"

Stacey and Stevie ran out to hug her. Sam jumped out of the way so they wouldn't crash into him.

"Hey, you two." Mercedes said, wrapping her arms around them both and pulling them into a hug. "So. You guys ready?" They stood back and nodded, their smiles spread wide across their tiny faces. "Then someone _please_ tell me what we're waiting for? Let's go!"

Without a moment's pause, the two of them ran down the steps and towards the car. Sam pulled the door closed behind him and locked it, then shoved the key into his pocket.

"You're a natural." He said as he draped an arm around her shoulder.

"What can I say? Everyone loves a piece of Mercedes."

Sam laughed. "Well, I can't argue with that."

They followed Stacey and Stevie to the car. The kids had already situated themselves inside and were all buckled in, waiting patiently for Sam and Mercedes.

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><p>It hadn't taken them very long to find the place. After all, who could miss the tall Ferris wheel and the few kiddie rides and booths they had scattered around the lot?<p>

"Did Kurt tell you what time they were going to be here?" Sam asked as he helped Stacey out of the car. "Or maybe Rachel?"

Mercedes looked around the parking lot. It was pretty packed with cars and families making their way to the park's entrance, so she couldn't exactly tell if their friends had already arrived or not.

"Not really." She said, squinting. "Maybe we should just go inside, wait for them somewhere there. They can call when they get here."

Sam nodded in agreement, and they both took hold of one of the kids' hands.

Mercedes was sure she couldn't remember this much people actually living in Lima. It always seemed like it was just this little dead end town where the families stayed cooped up inside their homes for the majority of the year. Here, kids complained left and right about wanting a certain prize from a booth or wanting to get on a ride, and parents shelled out money over and over again for ticket booklets and sugary snacks.

"Can we get on that one?" It was Stacey, tugging on Sam's shirt. Mercedes followed her finger in the direction of the merry-go-round. A signature carnival ride, and of course, Stacey would want to get on the shiny, colorful horses.

"How about you Stevie?" Mercedes asked. Stevie's face brightened and he nodded as well. "Ok, why don't you stay with Sam and I'll go buy-" Sam cut her off at this point, patting his pocket.

"Uh, wait. Mercedes, it's okay. I've got the tickets covered."

Mercedes smiled. "I don't mind. Don't worry about it. I have enough-"

"Really." Sam said. He let go of Stacey's hand and pushed her gently towards Mercedes. "I've got it. Be right back." And he walked away towards the ticket booth without another word.

"What's he up to?" Mercedes asked to no one in particular.

However, before Sam could make his way back, she heard a shout from somewhere behind her. The voice was familiar and she smiled before she even turned to look.

"Finally!" Kurt said, beaming and rushing towards her. He stretched out his hands towards her and placed them on her shoulders. "Oh, I felt like I haven't seen you in years."

"Kurt," Mercedes laughed and pulled him into a hug. "It's only been a few weeks."

"I know, but I've missed my favorite diva. You've been spending so much time with Sam that I thought you forgot about me."

"Are you kidding me. _You're _the one that's been ignoring my calls, Hummel." She pointed an angry finger at him, until Blaine appeared on her other side.

"Sorry, Mercedes. That's probably my fault." Blaine looked sheepish, but he gave her a friendly smile. "Nice to see you again." Mercedes pulled him into a hug as well.

"Where's Rachel?" Mercedes asked, looking over the boys' shoulders. Kurt turned to look around them as well.

"Not sure…" he said, putting a finger to his lips. "They were just with us…" his voice trailed away before he gave up entirely. "That's weird. I actually have no idea where she is. Finn's here as well. Rachel forced him to take a day off and come along. Did you know he started working at my dad's shop? He's trying to save up money for college."

Forgetting about Finn and Rachel for a moment, Mercedes glanced back over to the ticket booth, where Sam stood at the very front of the line. The guy inside nodded at something he had asked and then Sam held a fist up over the counter. When he opened his hand, small coins dropped onto the wooden surface and scattered towards the worker.

The man narrowed his eyes at Sam, but reached out to scoop up the change.

After the man gathered the coins, Sam tossed a few bills onto the counter as well.

The people in line behind him folded their arms, cocked their heads back in annoyance, and shifted their weight from one leg to another. A few of them bent their heads to whisper to their neighbors in line.

"I mean, she certainly told us that she was going to catch up with us, so-"

"Hold on Kurt, I'll be _right_ back. Watch the kids for me?"

Mercedes took off towards the line, to where people were obviously complaining. She tried to listen in to what they were saying, despite the noise from the park around them.

"Seriously," one woman was saying. "Who goes to buy tickets like that, _knowing _that the line is long?"

"It's ridiculous." Another person, a man, replied.

"It's inconsiderate to other people, that's what it is."

Honestly, Mercedes was doing her absolute best to ignore their complaints. She didn't want to cause a scene, especially with Stacey and Stevie being not too far away. But when she heard one frustrated groan too many, she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

Another woman brought her voice down quiet, but still it wasn't low enough for it to slip past Mercedes.

"Couldn't he at least change his coins to bills? It'd make it easier on every-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mercedes asked suddenly, glaring at the woman who had spoken. The lady jumped back slightly and blinked, completely taken off guard. "So you've been waiting for a few extra damn minutes. The park isn't going anywhere. Grow the hell up and have some patience! All of you!"

She didn't wait to see or hear their reactions. She just turned and walked swiftly passed the remaining people, straight to Sam.

_The nerve of those people._ She thought, angrily. They had _no idea_ the situation Sam and his family were currently in. They had _no idea _how hard it probably was for him to come up with that money. They couldn't even realize that Sam had a heart that was big enough not to care that he was standing there paying in coins, where most people would be embarrassed.

No, he was nowhere near embarrassed, because when she got to the front, he turned to her and smiled. He didn't know realize what had just happened at the back of the line. He probably didn't even hear her.

"Got 'em." He said, holding up a small ticket booklet. "I hope that's enough. There are about 40 tickets. It's 40, right?" he turned to the man to make sure he was correct, but the man only gave him a quick nod and motioned another customer forward.

"Come on, let's go." Mercedes said. She looped an arm through his and walked him away from the booth. Mercedes swore she could literally feel the stares of the few she had just yelled at, pushing against her back as they walked.

* * *

><p>Turned out that Stacey and Stevie loved the merry-go-round.<p>

No, really. They _loved _it. They took a few spins on it after their first ride, but no matter how many other, different, rides they visited, they kept coming back to the same plastic horses.

"One more time! Please!" Stacey begged after they had already been in the park for _hours_. It was even starting to get dark and the sky looked a beautiful purple color. The lights in the park had already started turning on as well, making everything just that more carnival like.

"Are you sure you want to waste another two tickets on that? I mean, we can go on the Ferris wheel. Or maybe the bumper cars?" Sam said, looking around. "Those are probably the only two things we haven't been on yet."

"Would she be too young, or too short for the bumper cars?" Mercedes asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, but that's where _I_ want to go next."

"Of course." Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Come on!" Stacey whined. "Please, just one more time!"

"You know, if you want, we can take her." Kurt said. He stood next to Stacey and put a hand on her head.

"Oh, please Sammy! Just two more tickets!"

Sam watched her with narrowed eyes for a few seconds, taunting her. The poor little girl seemed like she was being tortured, waiting for Sam to give in and hand her the tickets. Mercedes nudged him with her elbow and he laughed.

"Fine, ok. But this is your last time. No more after this." He tore two tickets out of the booklet and passed it along. Then he turned to Stevie. "Hey, bro. Wanna go on the merry-go-round again too?"

Stevie thought for a moment, looking from Stacey to Sam and the ticket booklet. It didn't have many left, and he probably realized that, so he shrugged and said, "Sure. I'll go again."

Sam tore out another two and handed them to him. "Ok, Kurt and Blaine are going to take you, so be good and listen to them." Sam ruffled Stevie's hair as the little boy walked away.

"You know, I think Kurt set us up." Mercedes said. She folded her arms and stared after the four of them with her eyes narrowed.

"Hey, we were planning on ditching the kids and leaving them with them anyway, so he just made it easier for us to sneak away."

Mercedes laughed. "That sounds so bad when you say it like that. We planned on '_ditching the kids with them_'. But," she shook her head. "You do have a point…"

"I know I do." He reached out and took her hand. Letting out a deep breath, he started to walk, swinging their arms in an extravagant fashion.

"So, what are your plans for this evening, Mr. Evans?"

Sam thought for a moment. His eyes wandered around for a few seconds, not really settling on anything in particular. However, he did have one thing in mind.

"Let's go on the Ferris wheel." He pointed up to the ride. In this small area, it was easily the tallest out of everything in the park. There weren't any huge rollercoasters around.

"What?"

"_Come_ _on_. It's not like it's every day we get to do something like this." He turned her towards him and hugged her by the waist. "And, you know, with the stars that are about to come out and everything, it'll be romantic."

"Not to mention cheesy."

He smiled. "I'll kiss you when we get to the top."

"Oh, well that's not cheesy at all." She winked.

"You know you want to. You want the cheesiness."

She busted out laughing at that, covering his mouth with her hand.

"Don't say that again. Ever."

"I only promise not to if you get on the ride with me."

She was about to argue her point further, about not wanting to feel like she was falling into a classic, cliché, romance film, but she dropped her hand within seconds. He was just so much more attractive when he had something to be excited over that she couldn't turn him down.

"Oh, I guess one ride couldn't hurt."

"That's my girl." Sam said, before he pulled her over to the line.

* * *

><p>It was three tickets each to get on the Ferris wheel. It was on a pretty slow spin cycle, so a few turns around was enough to make a satisfied customer. Or so the worker said, anyway.<p>

Sam and Mercedes stepped inside a car together, and the worker lowered the bar in front of them to keep them in place.

Sam grinned over at Mercedes the moment the ride began, and for a second, she felt as if her heart was going to jump right out of her chest.

"It's not that bad." Sam said as the car lurched backwards.

"Not bad, just sudden. I've never been on one of these before." She looked down and then over the side of their car.

"I have, back at home. Don't worry, baby. I've got you." Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his grin even wider than before. She nudged him in the ribs.

"I'm fine!

"Ok, ok." He said, pretending to back away from her in the small space. "Just wanted you to know." He laughed.

Still, despite her arguments from before, she cuddled close to him as their car drew higher up the ride, closer to the top with every passing second.

"You know, this really is pretty romantic." She said quietly. Suddenly. She played with the edges of his t-shirt. "No matter how much I wanted to deny it."

He didn't say anything, just rested his chin on her head and pulled her closer.

"It's actually beautiful. Seeing Lima like this. I've never been so high up."

"It _is_ pretty amazing."

"Can I ask you something?" she moved to look at him then and her gaze caught onto his.

He sighed before answering her. "You want to know about the money, don't you?"

She hadn't even said anything, didn't mention a thing that would have given her away. She didn't want to seem nosey or anything like that, so she didn't answer.

But regardless of her curiosity, she felt a rush of heat to her cheeks and looked away, embarrassed that she even thought to ask him about something that was definitely not her business.

"Hey, it's fine." Sam said, squeezing her shoulder. "My parents actually just managed to give me some cash, and then other than that, I had a bunch of coins saved up. You know, from finding little things around the house."

Mercedes felt bad that he had to go to his parents for money. If she had known they had to do that, she probably wouldn't have brought up the amusement park and would have instead suggested taking Stacey and Stevie to a regular park instead. That would be fun for them, and entirely free too.

"You're quiet. What are you thinking about?" he asked, playing with a lock of her hair.

Their car had reached the very top of the Ferris wheel before she could answer.

"It's okay, you know." Sam said after he probably realized that she didn't want to say anything. "I feel better that I was able to pay for something. That I'm not some kind of worthless boyfriend that can't even take his girl out on a regular date."

That got her attention, though.

"What?"

Sam shrugged and leaned forward against the iron bar that was holding them in.

"I told you this week that I don't want us to only be babysitting together, and I meant that." He sighed, his face looking sad and frustrated now. It surprised her how much he could change from being the bright, happy Sam to the open, vulnerable Sam. It was a side of him that people rarely got to see. "I'm sorry if I haven't been able to do much for you lately."

"Ok, Sam, you've got to stop thinking like that."

"Like what? Mercedes, I grew up knowing how to treat the people I care about. I mean, really _treat _them. I never did things in order to show off money or, or 'bribe' a girl to like me, because honestly, we were still never crazy rich to begin with, but when it came to someone I really liked, I would go all out for that person. That's just who I was."

They were near the bottom of the ride again and it was a few more seconds before Sam continued. His next few words came out rushed, so much that Mercedes had to make sure she could hear every word over the sound of the wind around them.

"And now I'm with you, and I'm your boyfriend, and the feelings I have for you are stronger than anything I've felt for anyone else and I can't do anything or take you anywhere or get you anything and it's just…" Mercedes stared, wide-eyed, at Sam, as he finally sat back against the car. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "It's frustrating."

He looked at her then, his sad eyes meeting her wide ones.

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm dumping all of this on you now. This is supposed to be romantic."

"No, you know what, it's good that you're telling me all this."

Sam laughed and looked out in front of them. "Is it though?"

"Yes, Sam. It is." She reached out a hand to touch his face, to direct his eyes back to her. "Do you think, when I look at you, I see how much _money_ you have? Or how much you can _spend _on me?"

"Well, of course you don't, because I don't have any-"

"No, I couldn't care less about that. I'm with you, Sam, because I want to be with _you._ Helping you out with Stacey and Stevie is something that I _want _to do. Don't you see? You bring out a whole different side of me that is anything _but_ a diva. I don't care about the fancy stuff when I'm with you. I don't want expensive restaurants or anything. Give me a bowl of Mac & Cheese and old cartoons, and I'll spend the whole day with you. And I'll enjoy it, too."

They were almost near the top of the ride once more, though they were losing track of how many times the wheel had already spun around.

"Hey," she said. "You believe me, don't you?"

Sam nodded silently. "Yeah." He said. "Of course I do."

"You better. Because there's no one else in the world I would sit through old cartoons with. I won't even watch TV with my brother when he's home from school."

Sam laughed at that.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, baby. I don't want that getting to your head anymore. You don't have to prove how much you care for me with anything but your words and actions, and you already have that down perfectly so…"

She moved in to kiss him just as the car passed the highest point and began making its way down. Sam deepened the kiss, pulling her closer than she already was, resting his hand on her cheek. They were like that for some time, faces pressed close, bodies with hardly any space in between.

They kissed, completely in the moment and oblivious to the world around them until they heard a loud grunt and someone talking.

"_Excuse_ me."

It took them both a few seconds to realize that they were no longer at the highest point of the ride, but that they were now at ground level. They were no longer moving, as well. The door to their seats was swung open and the ride operator stood in front of it, waiting.

"You're gonna have to get off the ride now." He said sternly, eyeing the both of them.

Mercedes exchanged an awkward look with Sam, and quickly got out of the car. He followed her without saying a thing, past the many stares of people waiting to get on next.

"Oh my god." Mercedes said, laughing as they walked away from the ride. "Did you see the guy's face?"

"He was just jealous that he wasn't the one kissing you."

"Everyone was staring at us."

"Don't lie, that was kind of hot."

"Sam, hush!" she reached out an arm to push him, but he jumped out of her line of attack. But just as fast as he dodged away from her, he managed to take hold of her hand. He pulled her close to his chest and looked down at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to go back yet. That was only one ride and it can't be the end of our night."

Mercedes was quiet, thinking. Her hands rested in front of her, on his chest, and she suddenly came up with a sneaky idea.

"How about we forget the rides."

"And do what?"

"Well, we can go back to my car." She started walking backwards, in the direction she knew the parking lot was in. "No one will be watching us there."

Sam raised an eyebrow, but grinned and followed. Without another word between the pair of them, they headed back towards the car.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! But my midterm exams are finally over and now I can breathe and continue with more chapters :)<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this one. I had to take my time writing it because I had to set up a few different things that will come into play a little later. Anyway, I know you're probably anxious to find out what happens next ;) So I'll do my best to get that posted as soon as possible!**

**Thank you!**


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